Walking with a Staff and Carrying a Zither
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.Fu Baoshi’s inscription reads:
Ni Zan [1306–1374] said, “What I call painting does not exceed the joy of careless sketching with the brush. I do not seek formal likeness but do it simply for my own amusement.” To evaluate painting, there were different categories of greatness: divine [shen], wonderful [miao], competent [neng], and effortless [yi]. Wasn’t the [eighth-century] critic Zhu Jingxuan perceptive in this regard? Painted during the yichou year [1925] for the advice of Mr. Zhenqing. Master of the Studio for Embracing Stones.
—Trans. Anita Chung
Ni Zan [1306–1374] said, “What I call painting does not exceed the joy of careless sketching with the brush. I do not seek formal likeness but do it simply for my own amusement.” To evaluate painting, there were different categories of greatness: divine [shen], wonderful [miao], competent [neng], and effortless [yi]. Wasn’t the [eighth-century] critic Zhu Jingxuan perceptive in this regard? Painted during the yichou year [1925] for the advice of Mr. Zhenqing. Master of the Studio for Embracing Stones.
—Trans. Anita Chung
Artwork Details
- Title: Walking with a Staff and Carrying a Zither
- Artist: Fu Baoshi (Chinese, 1904–1965)
- Date: datable to 1925
- Culture: China
- Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
- Dimensions: 52 5/8 x 12 5/8 in. (133.6 x 32 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Lent by Nanjing Museum
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art